The New England Patriots beat the Baltimore Ravens in what just might be the best playoff game we’ll see this season and the meme makers focused on Tom Brady being victorious again, Joe Flacco looking like a Sesame Street character, Rob Gronkowski being unstoppable and Julian Edelman showing off his quarterback skills.
Edelman throwing a touchdown to Danny Amendola, tying the game at 28-28, might be the most memorable score of the game. We’ll also remember how the Ravens led 14-0 and 28-14 and still managed to lose, getting outscored 21-3 after taking that two touchdown lead in the third quarter as their secondary fell apart and Joe Flacco threw two interceptions.
The Ravens aren’t a bad team, but they were far from special this season, suddenly rising to the occasion on the final week of the season and in the first playoff game. But these Patriots have gone through every big test this season and except for one (visiting Green Bay) came out on top. It’s not surprising to see everything coming together for them despite the early deficit.
The Patriots don’t lose at home, at least not recently. They have another home game against either the Colts or the Broncos, two teams they beat easily this season, before a sixth Super Bowl game in the Brady-Belichick era. Even when falling behind early and late, it’s hard to actually imagine them losing in Gillette, even when they come very close.
